The SKS: A pleasant surprise

I have tried to not be unnecessarily snobbish about firearms (except for the Chautchat but that is, at least in part, because it's fun to pick on the French) but I admit I had suffered somewhat from "cheap Commie crap syndrome". For those of you who do not interact much with shooters and their communities, CCCS is a mild-to-serious disdain for anything designed or manufactured in any former Communist-bloc country or satellite. In fairness, gulag labor, a philosophy of quantity above quality and occasional winging it through reverse-engineered plans did a good deal to earn that reputation but, nonetheless, it is foolish to cling blindly to assumptions. And so, when a student of mine was looking for a general purpose rifle on a severely-restricted budget, I recommended an SKS. Feel free to Google "SKS" "SKS-45" or "simonov" if you'd like great technical details. My personal Clif Notes version is this: It is a short, squattish, semi-automatic carbine firing the same intermediate round - the 7.62x39mm, very similar in ballistics as the American classic, the .30-30 - as the AK47 and relying on an internal, ten-round magazine.

I found one for him with an asking price of $300. While this is absurd by 1990s standards when you could buy one for $100, it's pretty fair by current market standards and actually pretty good given the fact that it was Russian-made (1950s vintage), barely fired from the looks of it and in overall near-pristine condition. In addition to finding one for him, I also took it upon myself to evaluate the accuracy, safety and function prior to plunking down any cash.

This is where the snobbery came in. I was expecting fit and finish to be rough, reliability to be excellent and accuracy to be perhaps slightly better than a pistol - and hopefully not flat-out abysmal.

Cue Gomer Pyle - "Surprise, surprise, surprise!"

Finish was a little rough but very acceptable given that it was over half a century old and metal-to-metal fit was excellent. The balance of the design was exceptional - it was heavy enough to feel solid, light enough to shoulder quickly and the sights lined up as naturally as the cheek weld. It went "bang" when the trigger was pulled - neither "click" nor "bang-bang-bang", as I feared. (Quick tip on evaluating semi-automatic firearms: Don't load more than three rounds until you verify the mechanical integrity. One of the definitions of "suck" is "having a gun go unexpectedly full-auto on you and needing to hold on for dear life until the magazine empties itself".)

Anyway, the gun fired in semi-auto mode and the safety prevented firing when engaged. But what really raised my eyebrows was the fact that it was as accurate as, well, a short-barreled rifle. I'd make it about a 4MOA gun (Minute Of Angle basically means one inch groups for every hundred yards - 1" at 100, 1/2" at 50, 2" at 200, et cetera). Not a competition-winner by any stretch but adequate for game-getting and self-defense within reasonable distances. I actually toyed with the idea of keeping the gun for myself and telling my student that I nixed the deal but, sadly, I've got this weird "ethics" thing that keeps cropping up, especially when someone is relying on my assistance and knowledge.

I decided at that moment that perhaps "Commie crap" wasn't quite so crappy after all or, at the very least, there were sufficient non-crappy specimens to warrant investigation. I vowed that I would get one of those little carbines for myself if I could find one under $300 and in serviceable condition.

Well.

My club's newsletter came out not long after and what should I find but a Chinese-made, 1990s vintage SKS... for $290. I bought it. I tried it. I am pleased.

Quite attractive blonde, laminated wood. Barely any score marks on the moving metal parts. Clean bore and sharp rifling down the barrel. From my limited testing, it seems to not be very fond of American-made ammo (understandable - we disagree with the Eastern Bloc on what "7.62mm" means and make our projectiles .308" in diameter instead of .311") but it gobbles up "cheap Russki" Wolf ammo with aplomb and also holds about 4-5MOA. Not too shabby, given my limited rifle experience and fuzzy view of the target.

So far, I've noted that the front post is pegged as far as it will go for windage yet the gun still holds left a little. An easy fix, there - I just hug the right ear of the rear sight and drop rounds where I want them. The rubber buttstock that came with it was nice and all but I've since replaced it with an original steel one. I like the traditionalism (which is why I've never bothered with the absurd "duckbill" extended magazines that came with the gun) and the reduced length-of-pull seems to suit the balance well. And, while the bayonet is pretty fun, removing it also improved balance and shouldering so it'll probably live in the safe with the rest of the spare parts. The weirdest thing I've encountered so far isn't with the gun but, of all things, faulty stripper clips. I mean, they're mostly flat strips of steel! What could go wrong with that? And yet, all but one will bind on loading even though they all appear identical to my naked eye.

I dig this carbine. I have an AR15 that will shoot circles around it. I have several .30-06 bolt guns and a Garand that will outdistance its range threefold. But for a neat, handy little carbine that was designed to take the kind of abuse that ignorant peasant conscripts can dole out, I think I've found a winner. I intend to spend a bit more time - and ammunition - getting to know this gun and hopefully tuning it down to 2-3MOA performance.

Okay, maybe 3-4MOA. It is just a hunk of Commie junk, after all....

:)

An anecdote about bullet setback and accuracy

I have to make an embarrassing confession: I don't cycle out my carry ammo. I know, I know - this is not a "best practice". But I tend to buy this very good stuff on this very tight budget, hence the handloading to allow practice with comparable performance on the cheap. So... out comes the mag, cleared is the chamber and the same rounds get loaded back in once I'm done. I really didn't think about the long-term ramifications until my latest range session with the DB380.

Deb had picked up some factory .380 at my request and, since I was now flush with mass-produced cartridges, I decided to use the Diamondback to burn up the old factory ammo I'd been carrying in my KelTec for the past few years. See, um, the cases were looking a little worn... and discolored... maybe a little "bumpy" at the case mouth. Yeah. I'm generally a safe guy especially around firearms but this was out-and-out stupidity on my part.

(For the record, no mechanical hiccups or failures were encountered, further reinforcing my belief that the previous problems were user error and/or hard primers. )

I set up the target, paced out about seven yards, took careful aim and - bang! - fired way low and left. Hm - that's odd. Maybe I jerked the trigger, a mild case of the "haven't shot in a bit" jitters. Let's take a breath and try it again. Bang! Off the paper. Seriously?!? I continued on and printed more of a pattern than a grouping, having eventual (and only moderate) success in dialing in by holding high and right about five inches. This is when I started thinking about bullet setback and all those rechamberings.

I loaded up the brand-spanking-new rounds and decided on a six o'clock hold again rather than staying high-right. Three full magazines of rapid-firing later, I had a ragged, three-inch hole on and barely above the aiming point I'd marked. Same distance, stance and grip but I still achieved better results even when using a hastier pace. The only difference was the condition of the ammo.

Now, this is purely anecdotal and hardly scientifically quantified but a coincidence worth noting. I haven't examined the spent cases (yet) for any signs of overpressure but this seems to be circumstantial evidence that case wear and tear adds up over the years. Performing a few searches on "bullet setback" returned hits mostly about dangerous chamber pressures but nothing to speak of in terms of accuracy. It makes sense that an increase in pressure combined with a pretty truncated launch tube might affect accuracy to a notable degree (worth a moment of pause, there, given how critical placement is when using a "mousegun") but I can't really say I've got enough evidence to make more than an anecdotal post on a personal blog :). If anyone reading this has noted similar behavior, regardless of caliber, I'd be interested in hearing about it. I'm going to try to run a similar test with my Glocks' Gold Dots (9mm and .45ACP) and will post an addendum if I get the same results.

Now I need to get back to work so I can afford a few boxes of Gold Dots to replace the ones I need to burn up for the Glocks....

So, um... has anyone apologized to Joe Wilson yet?

On September 9th of 2009, South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson made headlines by heckling our commander-in-chief during an address of Congress to sell his healthcare scam, er, "plan" by shouting, "You lie!" It was right about the time President Obama declared that the plan would not provide free coverage for illegal aliens. Wilson was castigated. He was vilified. He was chastised. He was censured.

And he was right.

Of course he was right! Anyone who had read the bill (okay, you can all stop laughing - or crying - now) would have been able to tell you that there was no way to filter out illegals - the amendments that were supposed to verify citizenship were voted down. But don't let facts, accuracy and reality get in the way of "being offended". And now, over eight million dollars - chicken feed by today's standards, I know - will be spent specifically on "seasonal and migrant farm workers". And Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Spokeswoman Judy Andrews said that grant recipients will not check the immigration status of people seeking services.

So... Joe was right and I'm just wondering what proper protocol might be here. I mean, Hallmark doesn't really make a card for it and I haven't found any "Shine" articles linked from Yahoo headlines (What Do You Say When They Weren't Wrong?). I'm a bit at a loss. Fruit basket?

Of course, it was a pretty general statement, this "You lie!" I'm not sure if we should limit the official apology card to referencing only the illegal immigrant healthcare lie. I mean, there are a whole lot of Obama lies to choose from.

The most recent (pass my bill) one, I suppose is (pass my bill) the whopper he (pass it!) dropped during his (you have GOT to pass this bill) address in which he (passitpassitpassit!) tried to sell his utter turd of a jobs bill (that you have got to pass). Oh, yes. The magic words, "It's paid for!"

Liar.

Mister President, I know you have no real work experience and obviously no clue about how money works so allow me to assist you. Something is "paid for" when you have the required cash in hand and fork it over when the goods or services are received. Wishing happy thoughts about money appearing from the sky or assuming your request for an advance on your pay will be granted is not "paying for" a goddamned thing. Neither is throwing it on a credit card on which you can't even cover the minimum monthly payment. Your plan to "pay for it"? The same stupid-assed tax increases that Republicans and even many Democrats have voted down. More than once. The bill that I pray to freaking God does not pass is NOT "paid for". Perhaps if I repeated it every third sentence in every public address I make....

Let's see.... Before that it was the debt ceiling. This was like a bullshit trifecta. First, the grand hypocrisy of President Obama's questioning the previous president's patriotism and leadership when Bush raised it but then playing the nation's savior when it was his own turn. Then throwing out how "Grandma might not get her social security check". Except for the fact that President Obama is about as intimidating as Urkel, that was straight protection racket - "You got a nice place here.... Be a shame if something might happen to it." And, when there was still resistance, the grand "We may default!" - although the administration knew damned well there was enough coming in to cover our nation's obligations.

Liar. If there was a default, it would have been a calculated, political decision done for pure leverage.

Prior to that, there was the load of crap about civility in political discourse. Yes, they were deeply concerned about civility when the Right and Tea Party were getting angry. Not so much when the Congressional only-one-race-is-allowed-but-it's-not-racism-when-we-do-it Caucus were telling people to go to hell, calling them "the enemy" and declaring them to be a repackaged Klan. Not so much when union thugs were being exhorted to "take these sonsabitches out" - meaning me and my family, in part. No, while President Obama can stick his nose in any time he thinks a non-Democrat is being a big meanie, Communication Director Dan Pfieffer tells us that he's not going to "serve as the speech police for the Democratic Party." Of course, this falls more under the category of "hypocrite" than "liar" so it might not be card-worthy.

Then... let's see again... all the campaign nonsense about closing Gitmo (Osama wishes Obama had followed through on that but I, for one, will let it slide), transparency in the administration (except for the czars... and "we have to pass it before we know what's in it") and Obama's condescending bit about "not wanting your guns" (except for the State Department, ATF and FBI coercing FFLs to sell to known gang members and drug mules not long after the president reassured the Brady Campaign that he was "working on gun control under the radar"). There was also the whole spiel about uniting the country. Like the way we constantly hear of anyone who is successful being blamed for anyone who is not. Like the way our president thumbs his nose at the Tea Party but attends La Raza rallies. And, of course, there was the line about "no U.S. boots on the ground in Libya"....

Whew. Wow. That was all off the top of my head, too. Hard to imagine what else might turn up if I gave it some serious thought or did any digging.

I'm starting to think a fruit basket might not be enough.

Sometimes words fail....

I am always at my least eloquent and sarcastic on this day. At least I've warned our kids that they'll see Mommy and Daddy crying a lot over the weekend and not to worry. So, as I passive-aggressively enjoy my breakfast of pork sausage and remember the day that radical Muslim terrorists murdered almost three thousand of my countrymen for the crime of being American, showing up for work and doing their sworn duty, I'll simply post the images that move me most.

I am not ready to "move on", you sons of bitches. Check me again in another decade.

Lies, damned lies and you're-a-goddamned-racist

This week, I read that, as a nation, we netted exactly zero jobs in the month of August. Frightening, since just about every figure released by the government this year has been adjusted downward. That's right - we began the year with triumphal hope-and-change numbers posted and announced across every online news source's headlines. Then, a month or two later, they, um, kinda ticked down a little. Not really heralded all that much and not very good for the current administration's credibility, the news was usually buried in the internet's equivalent of page eighty-three, second sidebar on the left, under the "sorry we got your last name wrong" retractions.

In case you're curious, here are the jobs-added numbers direct from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/schedule/archives/empsit_nr.htm#2011):

• February originally reported 192,000 jobs added, later revised to 235,000. Yay!
• March originally reported 216,000 jobs added, later revised to 221,000. Sweet! Oh... then revised again down to 194,000.
• April brought in 244,000... until it became 232,000
• May claimed 54,000 added... and got rounded down to 53,000... which then became 25,000. Minor math error, there, I guess.
• June posted an anemic 18,000 jobs but then got a bump to 20,000... then an inexplicable leap to 46,000... ooohhhhh but then a re-re-revised total of 20,000. But I'm sure they got it right that time.
• July supposedly brought in 117,000 jobs (perhaps including whoever the hell was supposed to be making up the figures for June)... but that eventually ticked down to 85,000.
• August? Goose egg. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

The only logical conclusion I can reach, based on current political rationale, is that math itself is racist. Seriously. I mean, think about it - it refuses to support our first (half) black President, it opposes almost every policy he's attempted to put in place, it refuses to compromise. Sound familiar to anyone? More than a little Tea Partyish, hmmm? Pure racism! In fact, I would suggest that the Department of Social Justice launch an immediate investigation and start rounding up mathematics and economics professors for spreading hate speech.

God, I shouldn't kid. It might give them more brilliant ideas.

As it is, it was almost sad - I'd posted our "The American Left can't stop playing the race card even when it makes no sense" piece just before Indiana Democratic Representative Andre Carson decided to jump on the "it's not hate speech when we use it" bandwagon. If only he'd gone there sooner or I'd waited to post a little longer.... I debated simply adding an addendum but this was such a doozy that I wanted to have a bit of a better chronology. I give it about a month before the "Tea Partists eat black babies on the Sabbath" rumors begin.

Yes, boys and girls, it seems that, according to Herr Grupenfuehrer Carson's line of thinking (when he believes he's addressing a black-only audience, that is), the Tea Party is actually a gigantic lynch party. In fact, and I quote, “some of them in Congress right now of this tea party movement would love to see you and me ... hanging on a tree.”

Yup. Makes perfect sense. Middle class Americans declaring, "We're done footing the bill for your 'free shit'." is EXACTLY the same as BillyJoeBob suggesting to BobbyLeeJames, "Hey! Let's go string us up some of them thar darkies!"

Yeah. Exactly. The. Same.

Shithead.

Anyway, Math, if you're reading this, I hope you eventually turn your back on the evil ways of white devil racism, embrace civil discourse and get with the program. Perhaps then we can figure out a way to pay for everybody's crap with money that appears from thin air.